WOMEN IN WEED ALIA VOLZ

ALIAVOLZ

The history of the medical marijuana movement is paved with untold stories like the one author Alia Volz has now brought to light with her new memoir, “Home Baked.”

In the book (out in paperback on April 20, 2021), Volz reveals and celebrates the work of her mother, Meridy, who for decades ran a beloved Bay Area brownie operation known as Sticky Fingers. Defying capture, Meridy and Volz’s father were also instrumental in providing Cannabis to HIV/AIDS patients and satiated their artistic tendencies by decorating each week’s brownie bag with a unique illustration. “Home Baked” serves as a worthy tribute to Volz’s parents,who are still with us, as well as to the larger bravery of those who risked prison to help others in need.

What is your book about and what inspired you to

write it? My folks had the first high-volume Cannabis edibles business in San Francisco – probably the first in California – to operate at that size. It started in the 1970s. By the time I was born in 1977, they were distributing upwards of 10,000 brownies per month throughout the city, to all of these different subcultures and various neighborhoods in San Francisco. Then, when the AIDS crisis hit at the beginning of the 1980s, Sticky Fingers transitioned into being part of the dawn of the medical marijuana movement. In writing “Home Baked,” I had the opportunity to tell the story of the progression from party drug to palliative medicine, as we think of Cannabis now, through this very personal lens and through the AIDS crisis.

Now that we’re a few years into adult-use sales, we’re at risk of forgetting about the risky, largely untold story of Cannabis as it existed prior to Prop 215, and later, Prop 64. Was that part of your inspiration for writing this book? To ensure your

mother’s legacy and work was recognized? To a certain extent. I decided to bring this project to light in the lead up to the passing of Proposition 64, which legalized adult recreational use in California. One thing that I noticed was that in the conversations that were being had about Cannabis, at that time, there in the group would design original packaging and it became like this underground comic. It was always some social commentary or a reflection on the politics of the day, or whatever was going on astrologically.

“Home Baked” is also in the process of being adapted for the screen. What can you say about the project?

The story has been optioned by [J.J. Abrams’ production company] Bad Robot for a television series. I’m actually working on developing the show with a co-writer that Bad Robot hired. I’m involved, though to what extent still remains to be seen as there are many people involved and so many variables. It hasn’t been sold to a network yet, but we’re getting ready to pitch.

What are some of the elements of your memoir you

hope this potential series is able to capture? I feel like there hasn’t really been a film or television series that encompasses both the wholesomeness and the community strength that is so evident – and always has been – in Cannabis culture with the seriousness of mind that it takes to run a successful cannabusiness. Especially in the days when it was illegal and involved extreme risk. We’ve had shows like “Weeds” and “High Maintenance” and a few others, but they all tend to focus on the silliness of the culture. Basically, the Cheech and Chong stoner stereotype: people who are so spaced out that they can barely tie their shoes and hilarity ensues.

There is certainly an aspect of Cannabis culture that is fun-loving like that, sure, but in my experience, having grown up in that world, it took a lot of savvy and courage and determination – and a really keen business sense – to pull off a significant underground cannabusiness like the one that my folks had. My parents were hippies, but they were not space cadets. So, having grown up steeped in Cannabis culture, I’m really eager to see a show that acknowledges that people who are successful in this world have skills and talents that would also translate successfully to anything else. It’s a real business that takes real, serious-minded people to accomplish it, especially when it was new and it was trailblazing. That’s really important to me.

I also want to emphasize that at least as far as Northern California Cannabis culture goes, or at least the culture that I’ve known – it’s always been very driven by strong, business-minded women. I feel like there is a stereotype or misconception that Cannabis is a man’s world that women are just starting to break into. We focus on new women in weed and how to empower women in cannabusiness, but in my experience, the growers and dealers have always largely been women. It goes back to the plants themselves, of course – we’re talking about a female plant, after all.

I’d also emphasize that, because this business started during the 1970s, which was a time when it was not so easy for women to gain a foothold and to be taken seriously as businesswomen, Cannabis was an avenue for female-driven businesses. That’s important to look at as well. Then, of course, always with this story, to explore the gravity, the strength and the intense community power that revealed itself during the HIV/AIDS epidemic. I feel like that has yet to be represented in its fullness, in the context of a mass market television show.

“In writing “Home Baked,” I had the opportunity to tell the story of the progression from party drug to palliative medicine, as we think of Cannabis now, through this very personal lens and through the AIDS crisis.”

wasn’t a lot of attention being paid to the role of AIDS activism in bringing us the access that we now have to Cannabis. For me, that was really the incentive. I came into the project knowing that my family had a deep involvement in that history, but to be completely honest with you, I hadn’t realized when I began working on this book just how much of a pioneer my mom was. I had this great window into the Cannabis culture of the ‘70s and ‘80s, and the evolution of Cannabis culture and medical marijuana, and I knew that my mom played an important role. But I didn’t realize just how pioneering and how original the work she was doing was. Once I dug into the material and got into the research, I realized that nobody was really operating on the scale that she was back then. It’s interesting because my mom didn’t really think of herself as a pioneer. She was making her decisions on a daily basis and trying to do what she thought was right while also avoiding the law. I think she was just happy to get away with it, to be honest with you.

Tell me about the legacy of Sticky Fingers’ brownie

bags! People actually collected them, right? Almost all of the people involved with Sticky Fingers brownies back in the ‘70s, including my parents, were artists – so it became like an arts collective. Every week, somebody

The story of Sticky Fingers brownies and the Volz family’s adventures have been chronicled in newspapers and magazines around the world, and in spellbinding longform radio broadcasts on NPR’s Fresh Air and Snap Judgement.

Meridy Volz

“I came into the project knowing that my family had a deep involvement in that history, but to be completely honest with you, I hadn’t realized when I began working on this book just how much of a pioneer my mom was.”

@ALIAVOLZZZ ALIAVOLZ.COM

“Home Baked: My Mom, Marijuana, and the Stoning of San Francisco” by Alia Volz | $16.99; Mariner Books indiebound.org/book/9780358505020